Here are seven Spectrum stories from this year that deserve a close look.

No diet is likely to treat autistic people on a large scale, but diets based on a genetic profile may bring big benefits to a few.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has, for the first time in 12 years, overhauled its recommendations for identifying and supporting autistic children.

Extra copies of a gene called BOLA2 predispose people to autism and may protect against iron deficiency.

How well autistic children perform daily-living tasks tracks with their language skills and autism traits.

Autistic people have long maintained that repetitive behaviors are beneficial. Emerging evidence in support of this idea is shaping new therapies.

A mix of two drugs eases hypersensitivity to noise in mice missing an autism gene — offering the promise of a similar treatment for autistic people.

Adults with autism are more than twice as likely as neurotypical people to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

Autism is unusually common among people with congenital blindness, in part because the ability to see drives much of brain development.

The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union would endanger continent-wide collaborations.